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Silver (Ag)Silver was known to ancient Hebrews, Greeks and the earliest Egyptians. Silver was known to the alchemists as a female element closely related to the Moon. The Moon is the "lesser light to rule the night" of Genesis. This is representative of the female, left-hand side and the dream and intuitive part of our brain and minds.

Isn't it strange that the fictional vampires roamed at night and the only thing they feared or were ruled by was silver? As we will see later - silver is indeed deadly to bloodsuckers, bacteria and parasites that feed from other life forms. Is it then strange silver represents the night-side of our characters and lives as believed by the ancients?

This shiny metal has many common uses, including dentistry, ornamental jewelry, in the photographic industry and in medicine. Found native and in various ores, including argentite, chalcopyrite and copper. Silver is the best conductor of heat and electricity of all the metals. In the case of electricityconductionsilver appears to be almost superconductive or "transparent" to the current flow. Molten silver absorbs many times its own volume of oxygen and will visibly swell during this process. Silver is highly impervious to damage except by sulfur which causes tarnish. Silver compounds have interesting commercial uses including seeding clouds to produce rain, as a cement for glass, in mirror production and in the construction of electrical components. Silver alloys have been used for centuries all over the world as coinage and barter. Another use for silver is in musical instruments as a wrapping on vibrating strings used on violins, tenors, violoncellos, guitars, etc. and are a prepared wire or catgut, plain or covered, usually the 4th or "G" string. Strings of steel or brass wire are used for all instruments which are struck with hammers or plectra, as dulcimers, pianos, etc. Each string being of a different thickness according to the tone and tension required. Silver has a high reflecting power throughout the visible lightspectrum which accounts for its "silvery" or "white" color. When fabricating mirrors very fine layers of vaporized silver are deposited in a vacuum onto glass. The gradual build-up of the fine layers of transparent coats goes through a magnificent color change from rose-red, then red-violet, then blue-violet and finally to a wonderful blue. Silver has spectral wavelengths from 2145.60 to 5665.43 angstroms. There is more information given on the wave numbers and spectra of silver on pages 29-31.

When silver is made into a colloid solution it becomes the best bactericide and disinfectant ever known to medical science. This solution (actual silver metal particles suspended in water) is reported to be deadly against 650 varieties of germs, parasites and bacteria whereas conventional antibiotics are only somewhat effective against a half dozen or so7. The colloid of silver has no side effects whatsoever while standard antibiotics are notoriously dangerous if used improperly. These "modern" antibiotics are so dangerous they require a trained and certified practitioner to prescribe their use. The silver colloids, on the other hand, are so safe they are not even regulated. See [Our Silver Works - colloidal silver]

This antibacterial property of silver was not always known. In the 4th century B.C. the army of Alexander the Great conquered Persia and Phoenicia and invaded India. In India the Greek army was stricken with an outbreak of a mysterious gastro-intestinal disease. It was noted the military commanders fell victim to the same disease but far less frequently than their men even though they shared all the same accommodations of the camp life with their men. More than two thousand years passed before science could explain the reasons for this. The soldiers drank from tin cups and their superiors from silver ones. It was proved that silver dissolves in water forming a colloid solution that kills pathogenic bacteria. Although the solubility of silver in water is low, it is quite sufficient for disinfection.

"While those of the Silver 'cord' makes for that transmutation of impulse from the brain to the organs of the body, sustaining - as it were - that spark of life itself in a material plane."Cayce (5500)

"The Silver, is to enable the activity of the eliminating system to so eradicate the effects of the suppression of activity in the muscular and tendon forces as to allow same to be eliminated from the body."Cayce (735)

Samaan22 finds that while colloidal silver preparations are less efficient as disinfectants than is ionic silver (e.g. silver nitrate) a 1:5000 solution of colloidal silver is a stronger disinfectant than phenol solution, 1:250. Moreover, the colloidal solutions of silver solution are much less irritating and are mush easier to use than is silver nitrate solution.23

A silver colloid prepared with more than 19% and less than 45% silver with protein (usually egg albumin) is used as an antiseptic and germicide in 5 to 50 percent solution, which acts as a mucilaginous demulcent and protective.23

http://www.svpvril.com/osw.html is capable of rendering stored drinking water potable for a long period of time (several months). Water tanks on ships and airplanes are often "silvered".

Disposal of even small quantities of Silver Nitrate connected to a septic tank is guaranteed to destroy the septic bacteria and require pumping out, flushing and seeding with fresh bacteria.

Silver Nitrate has antiseptic properties. A very dilute solution is sometimes dropped into newborn babies' eyes at birth to prevent contraction of gonorrhoea or chlamydia from the mother.

Fused Silver Nitrate, molded into sticks, was traditionally called lunar caustic. It is used as a cauterizing agent. Silver Nitrate is melted at 212°C ( 413°F ) and poured into a mold of the desired shape.

Silver Carbonate is used as a biocide against bacteria, yeasts and molds in some Paints and Resins.

In Today's Marketplace

Samsung has introduced washing machines that inject silver ions into the wash and rinse cycles to kill 99.9% of odor causing bacteria. Silver atoms, electrolytically stripped of an electron, are injected during the wash and rinse cycles, allowing over 100 quadrillion silver ions to penetrate deep into the fabric to sanitize clothing without the need for hot water or bleach. These machines can wash about 3,100 loads using 1 Troy Ounce (31.1 grams) of Silver metal.

Kohler has introduced a line of toilet seats that include an antimicrobial agent formed into the plastic which inhibits the growth of odor causing bacteria, mold and mildew.

American Standard StayClean whirlpool systems have plastic pipes manufactured with Antimicrobial Alphasan which are blue in color. This revolutionary material uses silver's natural antimicrobial characteristics to help keep the whirlpool free of 99.9% of microbes, mold and mildew.

NanoHorizons, Inc. SmartSilver are nanoscale silver additives for urethane, nylon and cotton. These permanent anti-odor/antimicrobial additives are added to the fibers during manufacturing.

Electrical Ionization units impregnate water with silver and copper ions. These sanitize pools, spas and fountains without the harsh effects of chlorine.

Elastoplast Silver Healing bandages. The pads in these bandages contain silver ions. These ions kill over 150 different bacteria, fungi, yeast and other harmful germs.

Silver Sulfadiazine is an antibacterial and antifungal agent. It is used as a topical cream to prevent and treat skin infections on areas of burned skin. The U.S. patent for Silver Sulfadiazine issued in September 1973.

Â· Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, wrote that silver had beneficial healing and anti-disease properties.

Â· The Phoenicians used to store water, wine, and vinegar in silver bottles to prevent spoiling.

Â· Prior to antibiotics, Colloidal Silver was used widely in hospitals as a bactericide.

Â· In the early 1800s, doctors used silver sutures in surgical wounds with very successful results.

Â· Pioneers of the American West found that if they placed silver or copper coins in their casks of drinking water, it kept the water safe from bacteria, algae, etc.

Â· In the early 1900s people would put silver dollars in milk bottles to prolong the milk's freshness.

Â· Silver compounds were used successfully to prevent infection in World War I (before antibiotics).

Â· Silver leaf was used to combat infection in wounds sustained by troops during World War I.

Â· By 1940 there were approximately four dozen different silver compounds on the market being used to treat every known infectious disease.

Â· Settlers in the Australian outback suspend silverware in their water tanks to retard spoilage.

Â· The widespread use of silver went out of fashion with the development of modern antibiotics.

However, recently there has been renewed interest in silver as a broad spectrum antimicrobial. In particular, it is being used with alginate, a naturally occurring biopolymer derived from seaweed, in a range of silver alginate products designed to prevent infections as part of wound management procedures, particularly applicable to burn victims.

Health precautions

Silver plays no known natural biological role in humans, and possible health effects of silver are a subject of dispute. Silver itself is not toxic but most silver salts are, and some may be carcinogenic.
Silver and compounds containing silver (like colloidal silver) can be absorbed into the circulatory system and become deposited in various body tissues leading to a condition called argyria which results in a blue-grayish pigmentation of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Although this condition does not harm a person's health, it is disfiguring and usually permanent. Argyria is rare and mild forms are sometimes mistaken for cyanosis.

Silver Ions and silver compounds show a toxic effect on some bacteria, viruses, algae and fungi typical for heavy metals like lead or mercury, but without the high toxicity to humans that is normally associated with them. Its germicidal effects kills many microbial organisms in vitro (i.e. in a test tube or a petri dish). The exact process by which this is done is still not well understood, although several different theories exist. One of these is a process generally known for heavy metals called the oligo-dynamic effect, which goes a long way explaining the effect on microbial life forms but does not explain certain antiviral functions.

Alternative Medicine

Today, various kinds of silver compounds, or devices to make solutions or colloids containing silver, are sold as remedies for a wide variety of diseases. Although mostly harmless, some people using these home-made solutions use far too much and develop argyria over a period of months or years, and several have been documented in the last few years in the medical literature, including one possible case of coma associated with a high intake of silver (see medical references). It is strongly advised to notify a doctor when taking silver as a form of self-medication.

Because of the mysticism surrounding silver's lunar associations, as well as the aesthetic qualities of the white, reflective metal that cause it to be associated with purity, silver in European Folklore has long been traditionally believed to be an antidote to various maladies and fictional monsters. Notably, silver was believed to be a repellent against vampires (this primarily originates from its holy connotations; also, mirrors were originally polished silver, and as such, vampires allegedly cannot be seen in them because they are wicked) and it was believed that a werewolf, in his bestial form, could only be killed by a weapon or bullet made of silver, and was equally effective against vampires, as described in Eastern European folklore. This has given rise to the term "silver bullet," which is used to describe things designed to cure or fix a wide array of maladies.

The Ogligodynamic Effect

Discovered in 1893 by the Swiss KW NÃ¤geli as a toxic effect of metal-ions on living cells, algae, moulds, spores, fungi, virus, prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms, even in relatively low concentrations. This antimicrobial effect is shown by ions of: mercury, silver, copper, iron, lead, zinc, bismuth, gold, aluminum and other metals.

Especially heavy metals show this effect. The exact mechanism of action is still unknown. Data from silver suggest that these ions denature proteins (enzymes) of the target cell or organism by binding to reactive groups resulting in their precipitation and inactivation. Silver inactivates enzymes by reacting with the sulfhydryl groups to form silver sulfides. Silver also reacts with the amino-, carboxyl-, phosphate-, and imidazole-groups and diminish the activities of lactate dehydrogenase and glutathione peroxidase. Bacteria (gram+ and gram-) are in general affected by the oligodynamic effect, but they can develop a heavy-metal resistance, or in the case of silver a silver-resistance. Virus in general are not very sensitive. The toxic effect is fully developed often only after a long time (many hours). http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/health/holistic_alternative_medicine/news.php?q=1232051103

Silver (Ag)

Silver was known to ancient Hebrews, Greeks and the earliest Egyptians. Silver was known to the alchemists as a female element closely related to the Moon. The Moon is the "lesser light to rule the night" of Genesis. This is representative of the female, left-hand side and the dream and intuitive part of our brain and minds.

Diamagnetic Property"Keely states "The diamagnetic receding action of the metal silver, which it exhibits towards an alternating magnetic flow is caused by "some 800,000 corpuscular percussions" per second - interatomic bombardment or more exactly expressed, "intersympathetic vibrations." [Snell Manuscript]